'Vaccine availability will not be an issue, 20-22 Cr doses next month'

Asserting that India has the capacity to administer 1.25 crore Covid vaccine doses a day, the Centre on Tuesday made it clear that "there will not be any issue regarding vaccine supply" in the days ahead and that "around 20-22 crore doses will be administered next month"

New Delhi: Asserting that India has the capacity to administer 1.25 crore Covid vaccine doses a day, the Centre on Tuesday made it clear that "there will not be any issue regarding vaccine supply" in the days ahead and that "around 20-22 crore doses will be administered next month".

Chairperson of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation in India (NTAGI) Dr N.K. Arora made the announcement considering a record 85 lakh doses administered across the country till Monday midnight under new vaccination policy, in which Centre is procuring 75 per cent of domestically available vaccines for free jabs to the 18-plus population.

Noting that the dosage achieved on Monday as a "big achievement", a Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHF) statement quoting Arora said: "Our aim is to vaccinate at least one crore people every day. Our capacity is such that we will easily be able to administer 1.25 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine every day."

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"This target is especially achievable in the wake of good support from the private sector, and this was proved on the very first day when revised guidelines came into force." The NTAGI Chairperson assured that there won't be any issue regarding the availability of vaccine. "We will have around 20-22 crore doses next month." "There will not be any issue regarding vaccine supply."

Arora also assured that the health infrastructure is well spread out to ensure that the vaccination drive reaches every corner of the country, including the hilly, tribal and very sparsely populated areas. Speaking about how India has been successful in the past as well, Arora said: "This is not unprecedented. In one week, we give polio vaccines to around 17 crore children. So, when India decides to do something, we are able to achieve it."

(IANS)